Abstract
Maternal and perinatal undernutrition affects the lung development of litters and it may produce long-lasting alterations in respiratory health. This can be demonstrated using animal models and epidemiological studies. During pregnancy, maternal diet controls lung development by direct and indirect mechanisms. For sure, food intake and caloric restriction directly influence the whole body maturation and the lung. In addition, the maternal food intake during pregnancy controls mother, placenta, and fetal endocrine systems that regulate nutrient uptake and distribution to the fetus and pulmonary tissue development. There are several hormones involved in metabolic regulations, which may play an essential role in lung development during pregnancy. This review focuses on the effect of metabolic hormones in lung development and in how undernutrition alters the hormonal environment during pregnancy to disrupt normal lung maturation. We explore the role of GLP-1, ghrelin, and leptin, and also retinoids and cholecalciferol as hormones synthetized from diet precursors. Finally, we also address how metabolic hormones altered during pregnancy may affect lung pathophysiology in the adulthood.
Highlights
Maternal diet is an essential factor that controls fetal growth, both directly by providing nutrients to the embryo and indirectly by regulating the expression of endocrine mechanisms that control the uptake and use of nutrients by the fetus; it contributes indirectly by changing epigenetic profile and so modulating the expression of genes
The reduction in fetal growth is explained by the reduction in cell division [2], which is the result of the adaptation of the cells to the lack of nutrients and the alteration of growth factor and hormone supplies, especially insulin and growth hormone [3]
We summarize the actions of some of the most relevant metabolic hormones, such as ghrelin, leptin, Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), and gene-regulating hormones such as retinoids and cholecalciferols
Summary
Maternal diet is an essential factor that controls fetal growth, both directly by providing nutrients to the embryo and indirectly by regulating the expression of endocrine mechanisms that control the uptake and use of nutrients by the fetus; it contributes indirectly by changing epigenetic profile and so modulating the expression of genes. It is demonstrated that maternal undernutrition reduces fetal and placental growth in animals and humans [1]. Lung development starts as soon as week 3 of gestation [5]. Lung organogenesis comprises five differentiated stages in humans [6]. 27 WG), the epithelia differentiates to separate conducting and respiratory airways and the pulmonary surfactant starts to be synthetized by alveolar type II cells (ATII). Other mammal species used for the study of lung development show similar stages, but at different timing during gestation. Rodents have an immature lung at birth—they are in the saccular stage and the alveoli develop postnatally [7]. The deficit of nutrients may alter normal lung development, and promotes a long-lasting impact in the lung structure and function [8]
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